Paul Fox, a 2017 All-American and two-time NCAA qualifier, is staying home (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)The 45 at-large selections for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships were announced on Tuesday. Here is a look at the five best wrestlers who entered Tuesday on the bubble for a berth in the NCAAs and were passed over.
157: Paul Fox (Stanford, 157)
Fox, a 2017 All-American and multiple-time NCAA qualifier, is the most accomplished wrestler not to secure an at-large berth. The senior from Gilroy, Calif. dropped a match to his teammate Dominick Mandarino early in the season at the Roadrunner Open, but bounced back to win the Reno Tournament of Champions in December. However, none of his wins in Reno came over NCAA qualifiers. Fox and Mandarino split time at 157 pounds for much of the season. Ultimately, Fox was given the nod at 157 pounds late in the season. However, by that point he missed several opportunities to pick up quality wins at 157 pounds. Mandarino faced three NCAA qualifiers in February … and lost all three matches. Fox needed to place in the top two at the Pac-12 Championships to earn an automatic berth in the NCAAs. Seeded No. 2, Fox fell in the semifinals to Oregon State's Hunter Willits 6-1. He came back to finish third.
Jelani Embree (Michigan, 184)
Expectations were high for Embree entering this season. He came to Michigan as a top-30 recruit from the Class of 2017. After a strong redshirt season, which included two tournament titles, Embree was expected to step in the Wolverine lineup at 184 pounds and make an immediate impact after the graduation of All-American Domenic Abounader. However, Embree's season was filled with ups and downs. He battled an injury that kept him off the mat for most of December and all of January. In February, Embree reeled off four consecutive victories going into the NCAA Championships to improve his record to 13-4. He entered the Big Ten Championships as the No. 7 seed and needing to place in the top eight to earn an automatic berth. Things couldn't have gone much worse for Embree at the Big Ten Championships. He went 0-3, losing matches to Cameron Caffey of Michigan State, Max Lyon of Purdue and Brandon Krone of Minnesota.
Wyatt Koelling (Missouri, 197)
Missouri's Koelling entered the MAC Championships as the top seed at 197 pounds, a weight class that received only one automatic qualification spot. He opened his MAC tournament with a 6-2 victory to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, Koelling faced 2017 junior college national champion Tim Young of Old Dominion, a wrestler he pinned early in the season. This time, Young avenged the loss, stunning Koelling in tiebreaker, 3-1, to reach the MAC finals. Koelling would bounce back to place third. He finished the season with a record of 22-10. The Utah native had wins this season over 2019 NCAA qualifiers Brett Perry of Buffalo and Christian Brunner of Purdue, as well as three-time NCAA qualifier Corey Griego of Oregon State. Koelling is the lone Tiger not to qualify for the NCAAs. Eight of his teammates earned automatic berths, while a ninth, Connor Flynn, secured an at-large berth at 165 pounds.
Shakur Laney (Ohio, 125)
Laney qualified for the NCAAs in each of his first two seasons at Ohio University before redshirting last season. He started the season ranked No. 13 at 125 pounds, and many expected him to be in the hunt to become an All-American in his junior season. But it turned out to be a disappointing season for Laney. He dealt with weight issues (missed weight against Iowa State) and inconsistency. Unfortunately for Laney, the highlight of his season came in November when he knocked off Michael McGee of Old Dominion at the Navy Classic. McGee would go on to avenge that loss in the February dual meet before claiming a MAC title a month later. Laney qualified one of four spots for the MAC at 125 pounds. He entered the MAC Championships as the No. 3 seed. He was pinned in his first match by Bryce West of Northern Illinois. He rebounded with a 13-4 win over Jacob Ferri of Kent State to keep his automatic qualification hopes alive. However, his hopes were dashed when he was pinned again his next match by Missouri's Dack Punke, a wrestler he had beaten earlier in the season.
Cale Davidson (Wyoming, 197)
In mid-January, Davidson looked like a pretty safe bet to qualify for the NCAAs. He had compiled a 22-9 record and notched victories over several quality opponents, including Jay Aiello of Virginia, Malik McDonald of NC State and Sawyer Root of The Citadel, among others. However, things started going south for Davidson in his next competition when he was pinned by West Virginia's Noah Adams in a dual meet. His slide continued into February as he dropped matches to 2019 NCAA qualifiers Josh Hokit of Fresno State Tanner Orndorff of Utah Valley, as well as 2018 NCAA qualifier Jacob Seely. He came into the Big 12 Championships as the No. 8 seed in a weight class with seven automatic qualifiers. After falling 3-0 to top-seeded Preston Weigel of Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals, Davidson needed to pick up two wins in the consolation bracket to secure his automatic spot in the NCAAs. However, he was edged 4-3 in his first consolation match against Anthony McLaughlin of Air Force, which knocked him out of the tournament. He finished his season with a record of 23-15.
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